


What They Grow Beyond

by Jessa



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, reylo+child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-21 23:25:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16586309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessa/pseuds/Jessa
Summary: This series explores the future of a Reylo relationship, post EpIX. There is no chronological narrative to these chapters. They record some events that happen around the same time; one chapter does not necessarily build on the next. Comments and prompts welcome x





	1. Kyber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was written several months ago. I'm re-posting. Originally posted in response to the ‘kyber’ prompt from two-halves-of-reylo (mid 2018) and also my friend’s little niece, who is a samurai ;)

_“Aurebesh!”_

And then a sequence of banging. And then nothing.

Ben stirs, eyes still closed. He nuzzles the nape of the neck in front of him and pulls the warm body closer.

_“Rock ‘n’ Roll!”_

A second sequence of banging. And more nothing.

Ben stirs again, this time also opening his eyes. Rey doesn’t move. Her warm body is still beset by sleep and Ben can feel that her breath is still deep and slow as still his body spoons hers.

_“Aurebesh!”_

A third sequence of banging.

Ben sighs. This has been a rare treat. Actually, opportunities to ‘nap’ as they now call it whenever she’s within earshot are becoming less rare. Not exactly frequent. But this is the second time in a week they’ve managed to find the chance.

_“Rock ‘n’ Roll!”_

Ben sighs out slowly before placing a soft kiss at the back of Rey’s neck and then very reluctantly rolling over and out of bed.

He throws on the light shirt and trousers he’d earlier discarded and pads barefoot from the bedroom. The cedar floorboards squeak softly beneath him as slowly, still slightly groggy from the combined effects of Rey and light sleep, he makes his way to the very odd sounds she’s making on the balcony outside.

“Daddy!  _Aurebesh!”_  she cries, spying the silhouette of his massive frame approaching her tiny one.

She still wears the little grey tunic and tabard, both slightly too big for her. The tunic falls almost all the way to her knees, which are covered in a smattering of bruises that she collects daily on the various misadventures she pilots across the apartment, through the boundless galactic landscapes she imagines in her head.

 _“Your_   _Worshipfullness,”_  he says, teasing. “What are you saying?”

“I’m a Jedi Knight!” she cries bravely, brandishing the empty hilt of the decommissioned weapon in her hand before reaching both arms out in front of her, and staring straight down them at his big bare feet. Then she points the whole arrangement up at him in a battle stance he knows too well.  _“Rock ‘n’ Roll!”_

“Is  _that_  what Jedi Knights say?” he asks, still chuckling at how bizarre the scene before him both looks and sounds.

“Yes!” she cries again.  _“Aurebesh!”_

Ben laughs.

“Okay,  _Your Highnessness,”_  Ben returns, beginning to play along too and still looking down at her in disbelief. His heart swells.

“Now you listen,” he says, bending down and tackling her before lifting her up above his head and spinning her once, hearing the saber hilt clatter to the ground and the ineffable sound of her laugh as he makes her giddy.

“Daddy!”

He spins her once more and then carefully lands her back to the pine boards of the balcony, his strong arms holding her so steady she hardly feels it at all when her feet touch down as she lands. She wriggles away and goes straight for his knees, reaching out her little fingers to try to tickle him there as he dodges around her, but mostly just lets her get him. Then she reaches around both his legs and hugs him tight.

“Daddy!” she says before reaching up for the gallant and heroic face that towers above her, the face of her father.

 _“Princess,”_  he says, reaching down to touch the crown of her head as he begins to stoop until she lets him go, so he can kneel down before her now. She cuddles the face with her own adoring palms as the afternoon that’s been slowly disappearing around them at last turns its way into an evening.

Ben reaches out for the hollow hilt of the saber, as his powerful arm wraps itself around her and pulls her in close before turning her little body carefully to face the darkening sky of Chandrila.

“The  _brightest_  stars,” he says, in his deep gentle voice, “Have hearts of  _kyber.”_

She gazes up, and as she does she leans back against his broad chest and then nestles her cheek against his. The air is crisp around them as the grey light of the night sky begins to descend, and Ben pulls his daughter closer.

“And one day, when you are ready,” he begins.

Ben passes the hilt of the empty weapon back into her hands, and with her wide hazel eyes she stares into his own.

“I will take both you and  _this_ …” he continues.

He brings his face in even closer to be nearer to her ear as he also points to the first star they see, and she gazes there now, holding the saber and hanging on her father’s every word.

“... to  _that_  one, Leia.”


	2. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was written several months ago. I'm re-posting. In response to the ‘Lost’ prompt set by @two-halves-of-reylo (mid 2018).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts welcome for more in this series, I quite like writing canonverse Dad!Ben/Kylo.

“One… two… three… ten!”

“Three,  _ten?”_  Rey says quietly, raising her eyebrows and wrinkling her brow, but Ben knows in his heart she’s only teasing.

He raises an eyebrow of his own before stealing one more kiss from Rey’s lips.

“She’s only little…” he says in sympathy.

 _“Your_  genes, Solo,” she backhands with a wink before turning toward the direction of the balcony and heading back inside as Ben returns his attention to their daughter.

“Ready or not!” he hears her yell from within the recesses of the Falcon.

There are only two places where he hides when they play this game – beneath the hologram table and down in gunner position – but Ben is attempting this morning to surprise her by adding something new.

He waits patiently at the bottom of the gangway as he hears her little feet begin to scamper, first in the direction of pilot position and then back the other way to gunner. Then there is a pause. It lasts a little. Ben worries and begins to sense. And his heart wrenches when he realizes that Leia is sitting forlorn on the floor beneath the table in tears.

 _“Princess,”_  he says softly, as he sweeps her up when he reaches her.

“Where  _were_  you?” she says through sniffles as she snuggles her little face into the crook of his neck and reaches little hands around it, pulling anxiously at the ends of his hair. “I thought you were lost.”

“Here I am, little one,” he murmurs gently as he holds her, turning his body in a slow rock to soothe her. “I was just outside. I thought you’d come find me.”

“But you never go outside,” she says, pulling her face away and frowning at him.

He brushes a thumb across her cheeks, wiping them dry before kissing her forehead. She kisses him back on the nose.

“Forgive me?” he asks.

“Yes,” she says.

With her still wrapped in his arms, Ben starts to walk them both slowly to the bridge of the ship.

“Let me show you something,” he says, voice still soft as carefully he sets her down in pilot position.

She stands on the chair for a moment, balancing and staring out at the view of the cedars in the distance through the viewport before carefully sitting down. Ben sits down next to her and she looks at him expectantly.

“Do you know who that chair is for, Leia?” he asks, nodding to the one in which she sits.

“No, Daddy,” she says, her hazel eyes wide.

“That chair, Leia, is for the pilot of this ship,” he says. “Being the pilot is a very important job.”

He looks out at the sky above the cedars. She copies him, still listening.

“Their job is to decide where this ship goes,” he explains. “And do you know who this chair is for?”

“You, Daddy.”

Ben smiles.

“This chair is for the co-pilot. That’s very important too.”

Instinctively, Ben lifts his hand to touch the dice. Her eyes follow.

“Their job is to keep the pilot safe,” he says with the faintest of sighs.

She shifts her little body in the chair now so that she is closer to him, leaning in to him as far as it’s possible for her to go without leaving the seat.

“Make sure they don’t get lost,” Ben finishes, smiling gently at her.

Leia slides herself off the seat slowly and stands but doesn’t move. She gazes up at him, as though waiting for something.

“And I will always be here when you need a co-pilot, Leia,” he says, and a prickle begins in his eyes then but he blinks it away. “Whenever you feel lost. Do you know why?”

Now she moves, just enough to close the distance beteen her chair and his. She pulls herself up and into his lap. And Ben is overwhelmed again when he can sense her understand.

“Yes,” she says plainly, touching his face. “Because you’re Daddy, and that’s your job.”


	3. Dark Side (of the toast)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In response to the ‘Dark Side’ prompt from @two-halves-of-reylo (mid 2018). Another re-post. Further prompts for more in this series more than welcome x

“I don’t want it,” she says, frowning and pushing away the plate.

Ben sighs. “Why not?”

“It’s burnt,” she says, crossing her arms and wrinkling her nose.

“No, it’s not,” he says patiently, picking up a triangle and taking a bite, beginning to chew and forcing himself to ignore the strong flavor of carbon; it’s totally fucking burnt. “It’s completely delicious.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Daddy,” she says. “It’s rude.”

Rey snorts.

“It’s not burnt,” he replies, flipping the toast over to show her the totally unburnt ‘presentation’ side which he’d strategically placed face-up on her plate moments ago – along with an inordinate amount of spread as compensation – but which she’s still managed to sniff out.

“I don’t want it,” Leia says again, before pushing herself off her chair and landing her feet on the cedar floorboards, ready to pummel her way back down the hallway to her room; imaginary conquests awaited.

 _“Lei-_ a,” Rey says, in a deep and very meaningful voice.

The little girl pauses, and looks at her mother with large, hazel eyes that are spitting images of her own. They stare each other down for several moments until Leia drops hers to the floor, shifting her feet uncomfortably.

“But it’s  _burnt,”_ she says, softly, returning her eyes to her mother’s eventually. “I don’t  _want_  it.”

Rey leans forward, reaching out her hands to her daughter’s little waist and drawing her closer.

“But you  _need_  to eat breakfast,” Rey says, gravely. “So, what do you think you  _should_  do, instead of this?”

Leia frowns again, thinking. Ben shifts uncomfortably in his chair but Rey waits patiently.

 _“Not_ eat it,” Leia says at last.  _“Daddy_  can eat it.”

Rey sighs.

“Someone has very kindly made you breakfast, young Jedi,” Rey says gently, raising her own eyebrows at her daughter now. “Have you even said  _‘thank you’?”_

Leia drops her gaze from her mother’s and shifts her feet uncomfortably again.

“No, Mummy,” she admits, very quietly to the floor, before she raises her gaze to her father. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“Come here,  _Your Worshipfulness,”_  he says, reaching his long arms out to her and she smiles at this, launching herself into them as Ben stands and walks her to the kitchen.

“Don’t tell your mother, but I’m not very good at making toast,” Ben whispers in her ear on their way. “I might need some help.”

“You  _do_  need help, Daddy,” she states clearly, tugging gently at his ears. “Get all the things.”

Ben sets her down on the kitchen bench.

 _“All the things…,”_  he mutters as he pads, still barefoot and in his pyjamas, to the fridge and rummages again there for a few moments before extracting the bread and the spread.

“Okay,” he sighs, unloading his arms and re-opening the bread. “Direct me.”

“I want two pieces, please,” Leia says. “Here, Daddy. _I’ll_ put them in.”

Ben hands her two slices of bread and she fumbles a little, but he lets her try to cope. Eventually they find their way to the toaster and he helps her push the lever down to start the element.

“Now what,  _Your Highnessness?”_

 _“Now,_  Daddy,” she says, “You  _don’t_  burn it.”

“Okay,” he says obediently, stepping to the toaster and watching it carefully, flicking his eyes back to hers every so often and watching her nod in approval as she monitors him, and he continues to watch her toast.

Ben sniffs the air above the appliance, making sure to catch her gaze as he does so. He raises his eyebrows. Leia leans toward the toaster, sniffing, too, and mimicking her father’s actions, but frowning also as she enters a very deep state of concentration. After several moments of sniffing, she stops.

 _“Now,_  Daddy,” she says, urgently. “It’s ready, quick!”

Ben gasps theatrically and flips the lever on the toaster. Two perfectly golden pieces of toast emerge and the faint smells of toasted wholegrains waft across the kitchen. Rey smiles.

“It’s  _perfect,”_ Leia says, as she watches her father transfer the toast to a fresh plate and begin to add spread. “Not too light and not too dark.”

“Just right,” he says, adding two more slices of bread to the toaster as he catches Rey’s eye and winks.


	4. Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another re-post. In response to the ‘Victory’ prompt from @two-halves-of-reylo (mid 2018).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts or requests for more in this series are welcome. I am @jesssssah on tumblr, thx for reading this one x

"It's your turn," she mumbles, sleepily.

Ben snores loudly and Rey frowns.

“I know you’re awake,” she mumbles again.

“I’m not awake, I’m asleep.”

“It’s your turn,” she repeats.

“It’s not, I did it last time,” he grumbles back.

“No, you didn’t.” Rey rolls over to face him.

“Yes, I did,” he grumbles, again. Ben’s head is buried deep below the doona.

“I am  _so_  sure you didn’t,” she says, working her face beneath the doona.

“Really?” he asks, innocently.

“Yes,” she murmurs, kissing his cheek.

Ben opens one eye and looks at her. “Can you please do it? I don’t think I can move yet…”

Rey pauses, thinking.

“If I do it,” she says, “What are you going to do for me?”

Ben closes the eye and smiles. “What would you like me to do?”

“I would like you,” she says, slowly, “To do it for the next two mornings.”

Ben frowns, eyes still closed.

“No way, that’s not fun,” he mumbles. “Make it something fun…”

“How about, if you do it this morning,” she says,  _“Then_  you can do something fun to me?”

“Still no deal,” he says, firmly. “That means you get two things, and I get zero things, and that is not a fair amount of things between us.”

“Okay,” she says, thinking again. “Then how about you do it this morning, and then you get to do something fun to me, and  _then_  I will do it for  _two_  mornings in a row, starting from tomorrow. That’s two things each.”

Ben pauses. That was complicated. He frowns, thinking.

“No,” he mumbles, after several minutes. “That’s still way better for you.”

“How?”

“You get two sleep-ins, I only get one.”

“But it’s your turn.”

He opens his eyes and narrows them.

“Okay,” Rey tries again. “Then how about…”

Ben reaches up with a hand and presses his mouth to hers, cutting her off mid-sentence. Rey closes her eyes as he works his tongue lazily between her lips.

 _How about,_  he thinks,  _We just stay here and pretend we haven’t heard a single thing?_

Rey pulls her mouth away gently, smiling.

“That is completely irresponsible,” she murmurs.

“Only if we heard something,” he mumbles back, lifting his chin and coaxing her mouth down to his again with a palm gently cupped around the back of her head. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“You did so,” she says, and she nuzzles his nose. “Your ears are way bigger than mine and you know it. You  _totally_  heard that crash, too, you were  _so_  awake before.”

Ben sighs.

“Okay,” he says, finally. “How about this…”

“I’m listening.”

“I will get up and make Leia breakfast if I get to do whatever I want to you when I get back here afterwards. Deal?”

Rey presses her mouth to his again and smiles as she begins to gently push him out of bed with the soles of her bare feet, before rolling over and snuggling back down below the warm covers.

 _Victory,_  she thinks, as something else clatters to the floor in the kitchen.


End file.
